A Shouting Man

It’s 7.30am. A busy Friday morning at King’s Cross station in London. It’s been a long week, I’m tired and have a day of meetings and deadlines ahead of me. 6 o’clock and a pint of Cruzcampo seem like a long way off. Climbing up the steps, I emerge from the Victorian bowels of the London Underground system and into the crisp April morning and…"SPORT! MATE, SPORT!" A man in red uniform is shouting into my face. "SPORT!" As my senses slot back into their rightful place, I realize he’s telling me about a free magazine he’s giving away. It’s called Sport no less.

I’ve read it before and it’s not bad. It’s a freebie that nicely fills the gaps between tube stations and has definitely benefited by association with the spirit of hungover Friday mornings. But now I’ve got someone shouting in my face about it. Is that? Yes, I do believe I can smell his breath.

There are parallels between this shouting man and advertising during financially lean times.

The shouting man was briefed to tell as many people as possible about his magazine and possibly measured on the amount of copies he could get rid of. In a bid to carry out his task as effectively as possible, he decided to yell and thrust copies into the path of his prospects.

Agencies are briefed to create advertising that tells as many people as possible about a product, service or company. In 2009, there is more pressure to perform than in recent years. And too often client and agency will arrive at the conclusion that a short cut to effectiveness is to shout louder and thrust the product into the paths of their prospects. Digital, with the lure of a measurable click and the tantalizing proximity to a point of sale, is particularly susceptible to this.

I don’t know this for a fact, but I imagine that most people (just like me this morning) prefer to be spoken to, not shouted at. Most people will respond to being spoken to with courtesy. Most people will cower when you shout and breathe morning-breath on them. For really ‘hard-working’ ads, talk don’t shout.